Frances Gaver, Carmel Valley

We live in the county, just off Carmel Valley Road in the 92923 zip code area.

We were sent a letter in October stating that our water usage looked high. I called Cal Am and they sent a service man to check the meter; he found no evidence of a leak.

We were one of the families who did not receive a bill for three months. When it arrived, I was shocked to see that the total for October was $925.77 plus $234.73 in "other charges".

The amount for November was $71.71 plus $23.98 in "other charges."

The amount for December was $73.97 plus $24.61 in "other charges."

I called the number on the bill and talked to someone in the Midwest (Chicago?). I mentioned that there had been a number of articles in our local paper about people who had received extraordinary bills from Cal-Am (thank you, Herald) and I simply did not believe that we had used 277.50 "CGL" as compared with 45.63 "CGL" during the same period the year before.

He advised me to pay the bills for November and December, which were higher than usual, but in view of all I had read about the increased fees for water, I figured they were the "new normal." He said he would refer the October bill to their billing department.

This was on January 24, 2014; I have heard nothing more from Cal-Am.

I cannot figure out how to reconcile the bill; the summary shows that we used 392 "units" during this three-month period, but if I am adding the correct numbers on the month by month listing I get a total of 293.2 "units". Another mystery which I will endeavor to understand when I hear from Cal-Am again.

Thank you for looking into the problems so many residents seem to have with Cal Am.